Articles Posted inDistracted Driving

Although texting while driving is already banned in many states, one state is considering taking this safety measure to the next level. Nevada is considering passing a legislation that could allow law enforcement officers the ability to search through drivers’ cell phone usage history after a car crash.

Known as the “Textalyzer,” this new device works by connecting to the device and analyzing recent activity, such as opening social media apps like Facebook messenger. The Textalyzer was developed by the Israeli company Cellebrite.

“When I was growing up, drunk driving was a joke. Now it’s not a joke. Device use is a joke. Make it so it’s not funny.” — Ben Lieberman, father of 19-year-old who was killed by a texting driver

While drunk driving accidents have been on the decline over the past three decades, many states across the country are starting to strengthening their regulations in the hopes of preventing the reported 11,000 people killed in such accidents nationwide.

Last December, Utah lowered their legal driving blood alcohol content limit to 0.05% in hopes of decreasing the amount of D.U.I arrests. At an average of 30 D.U.I arrests/day, Utah already holds the record for the lowest number of daily D.U.I. arrests across the country. Already recognized as the most heavily restricted state for alcohol distribution/consumption, this new legislation has angered many, including those from the American Beverage Institute, a trade group that is working with bars and restaurants against the new law. “Someone with a 0.05% blood alcohol level is not meaningfully impaired,” says the managing director, Sarah Longwall.

In contrast to Utah, Texas’ statistics are much more distressing — every 20 minutes a Texan is hurt or killed in an alcohol-related crash.

For the third year in a row, there have been more than 40,000 traffic deaths throughout the United States. Although this number is startlingly high, there has been a slight downward trend over the past two years.

In 2017, the traffic death toll of 40,231 decreased by slightly less than 1% compared to 2016’s count of 40,327. The National Safety Council reports that 2018 is down another 1% with an estimated 40,000 traffic fatalities.

According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic deaths began dropping in 2008 and reached their lowest point in six decades in 2011 at 32,000. Experts suggest that this low point was a result of the recession, and as the economy started to bounce back, so did the number of cars on the road. Not only were American adults driving more, but so were the unexperienced teens. Additionally, more people were engaging in riskier behavior such as going out on weekends and taking lengthier road trips to new places.

Adolescents are known to take chances, succumb to peer pressure, overestimate their abilities, and have emotional mood swings. Each of these behaviors can increase the likelihood for the teenage driver to be involved in an automobile crash. Investigations have shown that “the cause of teenage crashes is not the skill with which they can drive, but the judgment they exercise while driving,” according to an editorial in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Inexperienced drivers are left with a Catch-22: Lack of experience makes puts them at high risk of being involved in an accident, and the only way to improve as a driver is more experience. One of the safest methods to increase experience for new teen drivers is supervised driving sessions with their parents, before and after they have obtained their license. This provides a real-time, constructive environment in which to get hands-on experience, all while being monitored by their parents, legal guardian, or other knowledgable driver with years of experience under their belt. By continuing supervised driving practice sessions, this can help mitigate risks for your children and loved ones.

According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic casualties fell by 1.8% for all of 2017. This came as a welcome relief after the sharp rise in deaths in the past several years. The National Safety Council states that from 2014 to 2015, traffic fatalities rose 7%, which marked the steepest two-year increase in over 50 years. 2016 brought an additional increase of 7%.

These new reduced statistics could be attributed to a variety of factors, one of which is automobile technology. Vehicle manufacturers are making cars safer than ever before by adding more crash avoidance features. These new safety components will help warn motorists of a potential crash, or automatically slow down the vehicle. “We’re very hopeful that will continue to be part of a trend,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Heidi King tells us.

Statistics show that teens are among the most dangerous drivers. This is not news to any of us. Many teens are just irresponsible, while others simply don’t have the experience necessary to be good drivers. The fact is that drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are the most dangerous drivers. According to the National Traffic Safety Administration, for each mile driven, teen drivers are approximately four times fore likely to be involved in an accident with another driver. They’re also involved in four times more fatal accidents than drivers between the ages of 25 and 69. Teens account for about ten percent of the population, and twelve percent of all fatal car wrecks.

So given these statistics, the question becomes, “Who is liable for these driving mistakes – the teen, the owner of the vehicle or the teen’s parents?” The following are some situations to consider when answering that question.

Chevrolet has been sending a safety engineer across the county to raise awareness of the risks of drowsy driving. Fatigued driving accidents are commonplace and particularly dangerous because a sleepy driver is slower to react and brake or swerve to avoid a collision. A drowsy driver may actually nod off behind the wheel and crash at full speed.

Chevrolet is asking local and national journalists to try the car manufacturer’s drowsy driving simulator. It consists of a 23-pound suit to cause the sluggishness your body feels when fatigued, and goggles that replicate frequent blinking associated with drowsy driving.

“As you get tired, the way we can tell is by your percent of eye closure, so every 10 seconds, the goggles close for one second; this represents being a medium level of drowsy, and mimics your eye pattern when you’re tired,” Maureen Short, a human factors expert and senior safety engineer for Chevrolet, told an NBC News reporter. “If you’re truly drowsy and you nod off, it can be 2 to 4 seconds of eye closure at a time.”

Count Paul Snyder among those who believe distraction, more than vehicles themselves, is responsible for the increase in pedestrian fatalities.

“I think the answer to it is really social patterns, you know, having very little to do with cars,” said Snyder, chair of the transportation design program at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies.

In the search for explanations for a dramatic rise in pedestrian deaths, Snyder is among those who believe that drivers or walkers not paying attention while in traffic, whether it is to glance at smartphones or elsewhere, are to blame. Pedestrian fatalities have risen 46 percent since 2009 while overall traffic deaths are only up 11 percent.

All personal injury cases are unique, but they share one factor: The plaintiff must prove the defendant acted negligently, and that this negligence caused a specific injury. This is easier to accomplish in certain cases, such as when an intoxicated driver causes an accident. In other situations, though, proving negligence may require substantial evidence and expert testimony.

Negligence on the road, in the hospital, or in some other setting has caused you undue suffering. You believe that you can secure significant personal injury damages, but before you proceed with your case, you must select a trustworthy attorney.

Personal injury law covers a lot of ground, but as you browse your options, you’ll notice two main patterns:

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